Cognitive Neuroscience

Cognitive neuroscience has become an increasingly important research field in psychiatry for developing models that integrate biological variables and parameters for cognition and emotion. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) have been introduced by the NIMH as a tool to study mental illnesses as brain circuit disorders, rather than diagnostic entities. RDoC offers the possibility to conceptualize human behavior, emotion, and cognition as dimensional. Translating behavioral/cognitive/emotional concepts into brain circuit models promises important implications for research and the development of intervention strategies. Especially computational models which describe neural processes associated with specific cognitive processes can support theory building and the development of personalized medical treatment strategies. In this chapter, the focus is on three RDoC domains and several related constructs. First, the constructs cognitive control and memory assigned to the cognitive system will be reviewed. Second, the behavioral and neural characteristics of perception and understanding of self and others assigned to the system for social processes will be depicted. Finally, an overview over reward-related processes assigned to the positive valence system will be given. The neural circuit representations and dysfunctions in the system and their role for neuropsychiatric illnesses will be outlined. Overall, this chapter provides an outline of basic cognitive processes and the underlying brain systems. For each core process, examples of disruptions in psychiatric conditions are presented together with a brief consideration of treatment implications.